In any case, the Colorado football coach came up with a good line in referring to the frozen pizza.

During Thursday’s well-attended 2012 Colorado Football Preview Luncheon (and recruiting review) for boosters, alumni and fans at the Sheraton Denver Downtown, Colorado raised some money for new artificial turf in the practice bubble with a silent auction.

One of the prizes was dinner at the Embree house.

“I don’t know who won the dinner at my house, but it’s going to be DiGiorno,” Embree said with a chuckle. “I think my wife is in a panic. Don’t worry, honey, it’s going to be DiGiorno.”

Former CU receiver and Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom was the main speaker. Bloom’s first receivers coach at Colorado was Embree.

“Due to the recent recruiting news, I won’t be tweeting during my speech,” quipped Bloom, referring to Embree signing cornerback Yuri Wright, who was expelled from Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey for offensive tweets. “Coach, you handle that awesome. Coach Embo is a mentor first and a coach second.”

Bloom talked about failing to win an Olympic gold medal in his final try at the 2006 Winter Games and how low he felt. He compared that to the past five or six years of Colorado football.

“That’s been the bottom,” Bloom said. “It’s over. The time for excuses is over. The right people (coaching staff) are in place. They are the right people to bring the swagger back to Colorado. I can’t wait to bring that swagger back.”

Bloom brought a roar from the audience, but legendary CU coach Bill McCartney cautioned that “it will take some time, ya all.”

McCartney announced plans for booster/fan gatherings during the spring game in the practice bubble and prior to 2012 home football games at First Bank Center in Broomfield. Showing a greater level of support for the program “will do wonders for recruiting,” McCartney said.

Film clips of each of the 28 signees were shown. Drawing some of the biggest reactions were footage of punishing hits by defensive lineman Kisima Jagne of Chandler, Ariz., and breakaway runs by Donta Abron of Upland, Calif.

“I really believe we’re on our way up,” Embree said in closing. “We have a lot of players in this (recruiting) class that can provide a foundation so we can start to talk about bowl games. I’m telling you, this is a special class.”

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.